


Don't Forget About Me (DOUBT #1)

by josiah_the_pariah



Series: DOUBT [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Road Trip, Serial Killers, Slow Burn, this took a dark turn eek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2018-09-24 03:38:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9697892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josiah_the_pariah/pseuds/josiah_the_pariah
Summary: Josh was used to going around country alone, just him, his thoughts, and no one else since he discovered that a gang of lunatics wasn't the best company. Then she walked in and he immediately started to reconsider this "solitude" thing...





	1. School Shootings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The woman, wearing a black trench-coat and knee high boots with lace gloves on walked over to the bar, right next to Josh and took a peek at his drink before smiling and ordering the same. It wasn’t the blatant school shooting referring outfit that caught Josh’s attention, it was the absolutely sinful blood splattered all over her face that went perfectly well with her red lipstick, making her look like a goddess surrounded by all the drunk teens around her.

There were many things Josh loved. He loved his drums, his music, his car. Hell, he even loved his hair on good days. But the thing he loved more than anything the world could offer was Halloween. People would dress up in costumes, either scary or slutty (he didn’t mind either kind) and parade around asking for candy, filling up the streets with happy children. That’s the small town version. The city’s version of Halloween was the complete opposite, just another opportunity to get wasted and spend all your money on pricey vodka just because it’s flavoured.

 

 

“Fuckin’ teenagers.” He grumbled as he watched yet another group of definitely under age friends giggle as they were handed a bottle of the “forbidden drink”.

 

Josh sipped his beer, peeling at the bottle’s label in boredom. Every now and then, someone would scream or cheer, who knows the difference by now, but everyone would laugh at whoever made the sound and the party would continue. Usually, Josh would just look around to see anyone interesting, but all he could see were sixteen year old’s and he wasn’t even thinking about having a go at one of them. Sixteen year old’s are precious to their parents, if anything happened the police would definitely be involved.

Then, she appeared.

 

The woman, wearing a black trench-coat and knee high boots with lace gloves on walked over to the bar, right next to Josh and took a peek at his drink before smiling and ordering the same. It wasn’t the blatant school shooting referring outfit that caught Josh’s attention, it was the absolutely sinful blood splattered all over her face that went perfectly well with her red lipstick, making her look like a goddess surrounded by all the drunk teens around her.

 

“Thanks, love.” She said to the bartender when he gave her a bottle and smiled when she handed him the exact change. The man looked a bit flustered, who could blame him? He quickly went away and left Josh with the mystery woman. For a few moments, neither spoke to one another. They simply drank their beer and listened to the crowd as they screamed and laughed.

“I like your costume.” Josh said first, making her turn her head to look at him.

“You do know where the idea is from, right?” She asked with a smirk.

“Columbine High School massacre, if I’m not mistaken.” He replied, taking a quick sip from his bottle. Her eyes widened and her smile grew.

“Finally, someone who knows and isn’t an asshole about it!” She laughed, moving her stool closer to his. Josh mentally fist bumped the air in success and smiled. Score.

“Everyone seems to have an issue with dark humour, it’s ridiculously immature.” Josh said and she immediately agreed. Soon enough, they were talking about almost all of the horrifying things that had happened lately with childlike glee.

“However, you don’t have the entire outfit.” Josh joked and she giggled before suddenly pulling a straight face and carefully moved her arm so that he could see the guns holstered around her waist and that was when Josh knew he had to know more about her.

“You’re unreal.” He muttered, looking dazed. She laughed and hid her guns once again, letting the conversation drift back to it’s original path.

The hours went by quickly, drinks were finished and then opened again, yet the both of them weren’t even close to being slightly drunk. They didn’t care about the mess of teenagers dancing to overly sexual songs, all they cared about was that, for the first time in forever, they found someone who actually understood their jokes. Suddenly, an ear splitting scream broke the conversation and the mystery woman groaned when she saw where the scream came from.

“What is it?” Josh asked, standing up with her as she grabbed her bottle and downed the last of her beer.

“Oh, honey, if you knew, you’d run for the hills.” She said almost sadly and went to walk away but Josh grabbed her wrist.

 

“Does it have something to do with the not so fake blood on your face?” Josh asked quietly. She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears and for a second Josh took in the sight of her face.

 

“Yeah, I didn’t have a silencer so I used one of my knives to cut some asshole’s throat.” She mumbled, seeming more angry than embarrassed.

“Alright, come with me, I can give you a ride outta here before the cops get here.” He offered, slacking the grip on her wrist to show her that she really did have a choice. She stared at him, frowning slightly, but then held his hand and pulled him through the crowd and to the exit. She let go of his hand the second the door closed and she sighed again, rubbing her face a few times.

“Hey, it’s fine, we can always go to McDonald’s. I’m sure there’s one fifteen minutes away.” Josh offered and her mood immediately went from pissed off to extremely happy.

 

“Really?” She asked, grabbing his hand again anyway, the lace of her gloves soft on his rough palm. Josh smiled at her and started walking to his car, ignoring the people running out of the club in fear.

“At this point I’d kill to see your smile.” He said, loving the way she laughed and leaned into him.

“No need, McDonald’s is enough. For now.” She joked, looking up at him with a carefree smile. Josh barely held back the urge to kiss her right there and then, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

They got to his car and she gasped when he unlocked it. 

“Are you coming in or what?” He asked, getting in and opening her door from the driver’s seat. She stared at his car in awe, a black 1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible with white leather seats. She got in and closed the door with a satisfying thud.

 

“I love this car.” She whispered and Josh drove out of the parking lot with a smug smile.

“I knew you would.” He said and she giggled, feeling the wind in her hair.

 “Next stop?”

“McDonald’s, of course.”

 

 


	2. Fly Me to The Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “One condition.” Josh said suddenly after a few moments of silent thinking, making the woman jump slightly.
> 
> “What?” 
> 
> “You tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine, and we can hit the road right now.” Josh smiled more and more as he spoke, seeing her smile grow also. She shook her head, laughing in relief.

They stared at each other, not daring to look away. The stranger squinted and Josh cocked his head to the side a bit. They had been staring for a good minute or so, and neither were willing to back down. Their fingers twitched and suddenly she got out twenty dollars and slammed it on the counter.

 

 

 

“Goddammit! Can’t you just let me pay?” Josh complained, putting his hand through his hair.

 

“Nope.” She said happily and waited for the confused cashier to give her the change. Their food was surprisingly quick and soon enough they were sitting opposite each other, eating their fries.

 

Silence reigned for a while as the couple ate, all their previous talking had made the both of them hungry.

 

“I have a proposition, and you can try to negotiate with me, but I’m pretty sure I’ve laid out all the options here.” She said suddenly, putting half of her burger to the side. Josh quickly chewed what was in his mouth and took a quick sip of soda.

 

“Hit me with it.” He said and she smiled,grabbing her tray and some left over fries. “Okay, so, you have a lovely car and a deadly appetite for, well, death.” She started, laughing quietly with Josh and finishing her fries.

 

“I only have one of those two things, so what do you think of going on the hybrid demon baby of a killing spree and a road trip, just me and you?” She asked, cracking her knuckles as she waited for him to answer.

 

“One condition.” Josh said suddenly after a few moments of silent thinking, making the woman jump slightly.

 

“What?” 

 

“You tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine, and we can hit the road right now.” Josh smiled more and more as he spoke, seeing her smile grow also. She shook her head, laughing in relief. 

“Y/N, my name’s Y/N.” She said, taking off her glove on her right hand to shake his hand properly.

 

“My name’s Josh.” He told her, shaking her hand softly. Her hands felt so smooth compared to his and he loved it.She put her glove back on and got up, grabbing her final half of her Big Mac and looked at Josh.

 

“Well? You did say we’d go right now.” She smiled cheekily.

 

“One last thing.” He said quietly and quietly finished his burger slowly.

 

“Ugh, come on!” She groaned, bending her knees slightly and taking a bite from her burger.

 

Josh smiled behind his burger and ate the final piece before getting up and putting an arm around Y/N’s shoulders, walking out of the fast food restaurant without a care in the world.

 

By the time they got to the car, she had finished her burger and was wiping her hands on the flaps of her trench-coat. A gust of wind hit the two and Y/N shivered slightly.

 

“Aren’t you cold in that thing?” Josh asked, opening the door for her.

 

“A little, but I’ll be fine. We can stop somewhere later, right?” She asked, getting in the car and looking up at him through her eyelashes with a slight pout. Josh groaned. She could ask for anything with that face and he’d gladly get it for her.

 

“Fine, put away your innocent act.” He grumbled, not managing to keep up his frown as she smiled and turned on the radio of his car then removed her boots. Josh got in the car and started the engine, looking over at Y/N.

She turned up the volume as a generic pop sing played, but she seemed to like it, so he didn't complain. Josh started to drive, going through the city at a comfortable speed and trying not to look at Y/N too often.

After a few minutes, Y/N started looking at her phone, texting rapidly. Josh tried to mind his own business but he couldn't help it, he was curious at heart.

"Who are you texting?" Josh asked, turning the radio volume down to be able to hear her better. At least that was the mental excuse he gave, he just couldn't stand Justin Bieber's voice anymore.

"Oh, just an acquaintance in a place a few cities over, wanna kill him? He's awful." She asked nonchalantly, looking at him with a wicked grin. Josh laughed and nodded, watching as she put her feet through the window, leaving her bare feet out of the car. 

"How awful is this guy?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"On a scale to nice neighbour to Hitler, he's your creepy neighbourhood paedophile." She said, shuddering slightly.

"And how do you know him?"

"He tried to fuck my baby sister." Y/N said, frowning. Josh blinked out of surprise then frowned also.

"Asshole."

"I know, right? The police couldn't find evidence to 'support my claims', so they let him go. He was just boasting that he was out of jail." She hissed, typing a bit harder on her phone. 

"I have machetes in the trunk, if you want to use them." Josh offered and she nodded, still typing. 

"Take the next exit, find the nearest Subway. That's where he agreed to meet, to make a 'deal'." She told Josh, putting her boots on again. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and didn't let go until he found where Y/N had told him to go. He looked over at her and saw the pure anger she had on her face, and for a split second he felt bad that this man would have to deal with Y/N's wrath, but he quickly shook the feeling away. The asshole deserved it.

 

 


	3. Sike, Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you dent my car I will fuck you up, asshole!"

The car was parked and Y/N was livid. Josh had given the idea to wait and cool down before seeing the asshole who almost raped her sister, so that she could give her signature convincing act. She had agree but it had been almost fifteen minutes since then and she was showing no signs of calming down.

"Might as well do this now, he might leave." Josh said softly, putting a hand on her knee. She nodded and looked at him with a weak smile.

"He almost hurt my baby sister, Josh. He deserves to die more than anyone in this entire world." Y/N said, barely managing to keep her voice stable. Josh moved his hand from her knee to her cheek, then he licked his thumb and wiped away some of the blood stains. She giggled quietly and leaned into his touch, waiting for him to finish making her presentable.

"There, all done." Josh said quietly, scared to break the moment. Y/N looked at Josh with a look in her eye he hadn't seen before and slowly started to lean in. Josh did the same and when they were about to kiss, her phone pinged as she received a message. She sighed and pulled away, taking a look at the message.

"It's him, be ready." Y/N said and composed herself before getting out of the car. Josh sat in the driver's seat, waiting. He played with the buttons on his radio, checked what was in the glove-box, fiddled with the hem of his tattered shirt, his jacket keeping him warm. All of a sudden, he hears a familiar loud laugh and sees Y/N with her arms around some stranger's shoulders. Josh quickly ducks down and makes sure he can't be seen as she walks to the car and opens the trunk.

"What's this about, darlin'?" The man asked and Josh could almost feel her fake smile drop from her face.

"You thought I forgave you?" She asked back, kicking him in the knees and making him fall into the truck.

"What the fuck?"

"Sike, bitch." Y/N said and slammed the trunk door down, quickly jumping into the car without opening the door.

"Go! Go! Go!" She yelled and the tires squealed as Josh quickly got out of the parking lot as soon as possible, speeding down the road.

"Where do we take him?" Josh asked, ignoring the yelling and muted thumping coming from his car.

"Some abandoned place, I don't know. Far from a crowd." Y/N said, too excited to even focus properly. Josh let himself laugh a bit and soon enough the two were laughing. God knows why. After a while the laughter died down and the yelling returned.

"If you dent my car I will fuck you up, asshole!" Josh yelled, a bit pissed at the incessant thumping. The noise stopped and Y/N giggled again, looking at Josh with that same look from before, but this time she didn't lean closer, she simply looked. Josh drove around for a while until he found a huge warehouse, visibly abandoned. He parked right in front of it and turned off the engine.

"Does that suite your needs?" Josh asked.

"Fuck yes. Could you be a dear and help me get him out of the trunk?" She asked, getting out and rolling up the sleeves of her trench-coat.

"Of course." Josh said, also getting out and grabbing some rope from the backseat. Y/N prepared herself and suddenly opened the trunk with her gun in her hand. The man had planned on fighting but froze the second he saw the weapon.

"That's right. Get out, pervert." Y/N ordered harshly and the stranger shakily climbed out of the surprisingly big trunk, staring at Josh with the rope in his hand.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" He asked as Josh tied his hands up in front of him with a reliable knot, casting a knowing look at Y/N, who seemed to love his idea. Neither of them answered the man, simply pushed him into the warehouse. After looking around for a few minutes and ignoring the pathetic pleas coming from the asshole, Josh whistled and pointed at a hook hanging from the ceiling. Y/N nodded and Josh roughly grabbed the paedophile, hooking him up from his tied hands.

"Now, whatever shall we do to you?" Y/N asked, cocking her head got to the side. Josh smirked and looked at the fear on the man's face. It was fascinating. Y/N's hands slowly went to the belt tying her trench-coat to grab one of her throwing knives, giving Josh a little peak of the bare skin underneath. She winked at him and pulled out a sharp blade.

"Oh, god." The man whimpered.

"You remember these? Good." Y/N hissed, cutting off his shirt as quick as possible. Josh watched as she left him in his underwear, trying not to get turned on by something so simple, failing miserably.

"Here's how this will go, Richard. My friend over there will beat you up, and then when you can't take it anymore, that's when the knives come in. Okay?" She explained, dragging the tip of the knife against his skin with just enough pressure to slightly cut him. She smiled when he flinched and looked over at Josh, taking a step back. He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Y/N, who put a hand on his bicep.

"Don't finish him off, we'll do that together." She whispered, making sure her lips brushed against his ear. Y/N felt him shiver slightly and when he nodded she let him go. She found a chair and sat down, leaning on the back of it as she watched Josh land punch after punch on Richard's torso. Soon enough, bruises were forming and after a very entertaining half hour, Richard started to plead for him to stop.

"Josh?" Y/N called out, making him look at her and god, if she didn't want him right there and then. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat and looked devastating. Who knew he could look so good?

"Yeah?" He answered, breathlessly. She stood up, leaving his jacket on the chair and walking over to him. She gave him a once over and smiled.

"I'll take it from here, baby." Y/N said quietly, realising how close she was to him. Josh also realised and seemed reluctant to move, but he let Y/N do her thing.

He walked over to the chair and sat down with a sigh, pushing his hair back with his hand. Screams started echoing in the warehouse as she cut him wherever she pleased, until he was covered in blood, sweat, cuts and bruises. Richard went quiet for a while and Josh started to relax when all of a sudden he let out his loudest scream yet. Josh looked over and winced when he saw one of her knives in his ribs.

"I thought we were going to kill him together?" Josh joked, but his shaky voice took away the edge. Y/N beckoned him over with a nod and he went to her side. She leaned into him and looked up with a scary smile, handing him a knife.

"You take the right eye, I take the left." She whispered, Richard struggled in the background. Josh nodded and they looked at him with an eerily identical grin before stabbing him just like Y/N said, making Richard twitch and stop for good. Y/N and Josh took in the scene in front of them for a moment before she pulled out her knives and wiped them on Richard's torn shirt before putting them back in her trench-coat.

"That was fun."

"That was amazing." Josh gasped, the adrenaline hitting him like a freight train. Y/N looked over at him with wide eyes.

"You too?" She asked, and instead of an answer she got a rough kiss. Josh pulled her close by the flaps of her coat and she put her hands over his wrists, deepening the kiss. He suddenly pulled away, gasping for air, but Y/N wasn't having it, and pulled him into another adrenaline-fuelled kiss which was even better than the first one.

"Holy shit." Josh said, his voice cracking. Y/N simply nodded and let go of him.

"Let's go?" She asked, still a bit dazed from the kisses. Josh nodded, grabbed his jacket and the left the scene, his body still leaking blood out all over the dusty floor.


	4. Hush, Hush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Killing is tiring." She yawned, stretching one arm up into the wild night sky.

They drove off into the night with wide smiles and careless souls as the wind blew through their hair. The adrenaline from their double-kill combo was still boiling their blood and filling their veins with pure euphoria and the rush it always gave them.

 

"That was fucking amazing." Josh sighed as he drove on, waiting for a motel sign to appear on the side of the road.

 

"I know, right? We have to do that again." Y/N said, looking at him and giggling. Josh couldn't hold back his smile, her giggles were contagious.

 

"Which part?" He joked, but the face she made made him wish he wasn't joking at all.

 

"All of it. Each and every part." She said, getting closer and closer to him until they were centimetres away.

 

Josh gripped on the steering wheel a little bit tighter and took a quick glance at the road. She put a hand on his chin and turned his head forward with a little more force than necessary

 

"Keep your eyes on the road, sugar, don't wanna die too soon." She smirked and fell back onto her seat, laughing at his expression. Josh was about to say something but then he saw the sign for a motel in about five minutes.

 

"Hey, we should crash at this motel and hit the city tomorrow." Josh offered. Y/N nodded and stifled a yawn.

 

 "Killing is tiring." She yawned, stretching one arm up into the wild night sky. Josh agreed and kept on driving until he pulled up at the motel parking lot in front of a random door. Y/N got out and sat on the bonnet. Usually, Josh would be pissed with someone sitting on his car, but this time he was okay with it. Weird. He quickly went to the main desk and got a room for two.

 

By the time he got back to the car, Y/N was almost dozing off and he caught her just as she was about to slip off of the car.

 

"Hey, sleepy head, lets go to bed, yeah?" He said in a soft voice and she nodded sleepily, stumbling along with him until he opened the door and she fell onto the nearest bed.  Josh laughed quietly and took off his jacket and shirt, leaving them on the table along with his wallet and keys.

 

He quickly went into the bathroom and washed the blood off of his skin before going back to where the beds were and was 100% ready to sleep when Y/N mumbled something.

 

"What?"

 

"Hm. Hug. M'cold." She said, barely audible. Josh laughed quietly again and moved over to her bed, lying down next to her and smiling when she immediately curled up to him, falling asleep again in seconds.

 

"Goodnight, Y/N." He muttered and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

 

-

 

Josh woke to annoyed grunts coming from somewhere not close nor far. He turned around messily in the bed which was now empty except for him and saw the beautiful sight known as Y/N wearing nothing but his jacket which barely covered her. She was glaring at her reflection with a wet towel in hand and was trying to get the dried blood off of her face and chest. He smiled and got out of bed, messy hair and jeans hanging dangerously low on his hips.

 

"Having trouble?" Josh asks, grabbing a toothbrush and getting to work on fighting cavities. Y/N didn't say anything, just glared, but her glare weakened when her eyes darted down to his bare torso. She quickly turned her eyes back to her reflection but Josh had caught her and hid his smile behind his toothbrush.

 

"Stupid blood, why didn't I just wipe it off when it was wet?" She grumbled, moving slightly to let Josh spit in the sink and clean his mouth.

 

"Well, after years of suffering from your same predicament, I learned how to fix that." Josh said, swiftly grabbing the towel she had in her hand and put some soap on the wet patch. She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

 

"You think I didn't think of that?"

 

"Shut up." Josh said quickly, moving her head slightly and started dabbing the towel on the places where the blood had dried. Y/N opened her mouth to protest but he put a finger on her lips and shushed her again. This time she listened and patiently waited for him to finish his surprisingly delicate routine.

 

After a few minutes he pulled away and nodded, throwing the towel into the sink. Y/N turned to the mirror and smiled at the sight of a clean face for once.

 

"Thanks, Josh." She smiled, kissing him on the cheek before going back to the bedrooms. Josh shook his head, laughing quietly before going back with her.

 

"Wanna leave? We need to go to some mall at night to grab some clothes, I'm done with my coat at this point." She complained as she put on her boots. The jacket moved with her and Josh could see a few more centimetres of bare skin, but not for long. Y/N adjusted the jacket and smirked.

 

"Not yet, pretty boy. Now, however, I need you to get out and let me get changed." She said, pointing to the door.

 

"Sure." He said weakly, putting on his shirt and grabbing his things before getting out and sitting on the front of the car. After a few minutes, Y/N walked out with his jacket in her hand. She handed it to him and got into the car.

 

"Let's go?"

 

"Of course, princess." He smiled, throwing his coat in the backseat before tearing out of the parking lot and leaving the motel in the rear view mirror.

 

-

 

The wait for the night was long and boring, the two just drove around the city, stopping at places they found interesting and eating food whenever they felt like it. By the time the sun made the hills its grave, Y/N was more than ready to get some new clothes.

 

"God, I can't wait to burn this fucking coat." She grumbled as she closed the power grid she had been working on. Now, all the cameras were off and they were free to do as they pleased.

 

"It's a nice coat." Josh commented and Y/N snorted.

 

"It is, but after wearing it for two days I am more than done with it." She said, taking her boots off and putting them in the rubbish bin as they walked by it. Josh hummed in agreement and followed her, staring at the dark store windows. It was weird for him ,seeing everything without people or lights and Y/N realised this also.

 

"Hey, pretty boy. You can get whatever you want, you own this place now." She grinned, throwing a bunch of keys on a key-chain to him. He managed to catch it and looked at her again.

 

"Keys to all the doors." She explained, showing him her copies.

 

"How do you do these things you do?" Josh asks, genuinely perplexed. She laughed and leaned into him.

 

"I just know the right people, Joshie." She told him before giggling and running off.

 

"I'll be in Victoria's Secret! Have fun!" She yelled, going round a corner and disappearing from Josh's sight.

 

He looked around for a while, grabbing a new pair of jeans and some shirts, but soon enough the thought of Y/N started to become too intense to bear, and so he went after her. It took him a few minutes to even find her. It was as if she had just disappeared and reappeared in the store she was going to.

 

“Y/N?” He called out, wincing at the loud echo of his own voice as it travelled through the empty building. When he didn’t get an answer, he kept on walking around until he found the Victoria’s Secret she told him about. The door was slightly ajar, indicating that the renegade woman was inside.

 

Josh opened the door and closed it behind him, avoiding the clothes and trying not to stare at the underwear all around him.

 

‘Now is not the time to be childish, Joshua. Pull yourself together.’ He hissed to himself quietly and kept on looking until the only place left were the dressing rooms. Without thinking, he walked in and came face to face with a very almost naked Y/N wearing a sheer white … was it called babydoll?

 

‘Not important.’ Josh muttered and quickly dismissed the thought and focused on the sight in front of him.

 

Y/N saw him in the reflection and grinned, spinning around to show him. Some clothes were hanging around her, random shirts and skirts from other shops that she probably got before.

 

“Does it look good?”

 

“I-uh, um, y-yeah, it does.” He stuttered, blushing madly but not able to turn around. Y/N beamed and went closer to him, looking at their reflection.

 

“We look quite the pair, huh. The crazy girl and the drummer-slash-killer.” Josh commented, making her laugh and lean into him. They looked at each other for a second before spun around and put her hands behind his neck so that she could pull him into a deep kiss seconds later.

 

This kiss was softer and sweeter than their first one. The ambiance was better too, no dead bodies or adrenaline to cloud their senses.

 

But, of course, it would never be soft and sweet with them. Not forever. Josh tapped her waist and Y/N, understanding the message, jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He held her up and kept on kissing her, holding her against the wall as they lost their selves in the kiss.

 

If they could, they would do this forever, just feeling one another and feeling the world fade away as all that mattered became the other. And they would’ve done it forever if it weren’t for the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

 

“Josh. Josh, there’s someone here.” Y/N whispered, distracting Josh from kissing her neck.

 

“Hm. Do we have to go?” He said, sounding drunk off of human contact. She smiled and kissed him once more before letting go of him and grabbing her and Josh’ clothes, putting them in a bag she found in the shop.

 

“Rain check?” She said, shrugging. Josh nodded and raised a brow at her, waiting for her master plan of escape.

 

Y/N pointed up and Josh frowned until he saw that they were removable tiles. He nodded and got ready to brace her. She quickly climbed him, pushing the tile up and crawling into the ceiling. A few seconds of nothing passed, then her arm popped out, ready to help the man follow her.

 

Soon enough, they were both in the ceiling, full of pipes and dust.

 

“Now what?” Josh whispered, painfully aware of the night guard talking into his walkie-talkie about a ‘suspicious open door’.

 

“We shimmy over there, it leads to where we parked the car.” She explained, already moving to the weird box thing. Josh considered asking what it was but he knew they didn’t have time for it. After a few minutes of ‘shimmy-ing’, Y/N spun around and put her feet on the panel. Then, she kicked. Once, twice, then the panel gave way to the open air.

 

They quickly jumped out and got into the car, silently leaving the hidden parking space and going back onto the main roads in minutes.

 

“Well, that was amusing.” Y/N smiled, looking over to Josh who was covered in dust. She giggled and wiped away all the grey stuff from his hair.

 

“You’re covered in dust, babygirl.” He smiled, and Y/N visibly flourished when she heard the nickname.

 

“I’ll shower when we get to the hotel.” She told him ,shaking her head and watching the dust fall onto her shoulders.

 

“Hotel?” Josh asked, visibly confused. Y/N put a hand in the back and revealed wads of cash.

 

“Some stores don’t empty their safes on the weekends.” She smiled, shaking the money and putting it back into the bag. Josh laughed and sped up a little bit.

 

“Well, what she wants, she gets.” Josh smirked, casting a cheeky look at the woman who grinned right back at him.

 

And if he happened to grab her hand as they cruised through the city, they didn’t comment on it.


	5. Bad Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, dude. Remember me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I forgot I changed this chap and didn't post it lmao woops

“Give us your best room for the night, good sir!” Y/N said loudly, slamming her hand down on the counter and acting as if she wasn’t just wearing lingerie with a loose robe barely tied around her waist. Josh stifled a laugh at the man’s expression as he stuttered to explain the room and costs, obviously trying to get them away from his precious eyes.

They had only driven for a few minutes before spotting a hotel that suited their fancy. An expensive looking building with a comforting glow to it, so of course, Y/N immediately wanted to go there and so they did. Josh didn’t feel safe knowing someone was driving his car into the garage, but he let Y/N drag him away and into the hotel.

Barely a minute later, they were in the elevator and going to their assigned room. Josh looked down at Y/N and they smiled at each other.

“Any plans for tomorrow, beautiful?” He asked, frowning slightly when the elevator stopped a few floors before theirs. 

“Not really, rest day maybe?” She offered; “I didn’t get much sleep last night to be honest.” 

When Josh was about to ask why, the doors opened and a stranger entered, wearing the full formal gear including a ridiculous bow tie. He just walked in and pressed the button for his floor, which was a few more than theirs,  before standing next to Y/N. Josh noticed the stranger cast a quick side glance and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the barely dressed woman beside him.

Unfortunately for him, Y/N also noticed.

“What?” She asked, sounding cold and aggressive as she crossed her arms.

“Nothing, sweetheart, just wondering how much you charge per hour.” He said smoothly. Y/N froze for a second, as did Josh, before she slowly turned around.

“What.”

“Is that the only thing you common folk know how to say? I was just being honest.” The stranger turned to look at her and didn’t seem even the slightest bit fazed under the woman’s murderous gaze.

“I will fucking-.” She started, pointing a finger.

“I’m afraid you don’t have time to threaten me, darling, your floor is coming up. Goodbye.” He said just as the doors opened again.

“Y/N, come on, leave him.” Josh whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. She glared at him for a few more seconds before storming off; leaving Josh behind as she quickly found the room and slammed it open.

Josh closed the door behind him a few seconds afterwards and took in a deep breath. It had taken everything in him to not punch that asshole in the elevator, and he had genuinely wanted to cut the guys balls off.

He walked into the bedroom and saw Y/N on the balcony, leaning against the railing, her shoulders tense.

“Hey.” He said softly, going next to her and leaning with her. She looked at him and he was surprised to see tears in the girl’s eyes.

“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.” She said, her voice breaking with anger as tears fell down her face. 

“I’ll help you.” Josh agreed, making sure to tread lightly. 

A few minutes of silence passed before Y/N sniffed and wiped her face with her hands. 

“Fuck , why am I crying?!” She sobbed; “This is ridiculous, I’ve been called worse by better, yet all it takes is one little thing and I’m back to being fucking five and crying over anything.” 

“We can make him cry, if you want.” He offered and she quickly turned her head to glare at him.

“I don’t want-! Ugh, I need a bath.” She said angrily, going back inside. Josh sighed, looking at the incredible view.

After half an hour, Josh realised he hadn’t heard anything since Y/N had gone for her bath and went back inside to look for her.

“Y/N?” He called out. No reply. 

He went into the bathroom and realised the lights weren’t on, but there was a curled up silhouette in the bathtub staring at the wall. Josh kneeled next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I ran from home when I was twelve.” Y/N said suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Soon enough, the money I took from my parent’s ran out and I was desperate, so I started looking for a job.” She laughed emptily.

“Who in their right mind would hire a dirty twelve year old?” She asked, looking down at her wrinkled hands. Josh stayed silent.

“When that didn’t work, I went to the not so legal side of the streets, and surprise! I found a job.” She said, curling up even more.

“What…happened?” Josh asked, scared to break the fragile moment. Y/N laughed again.

“What do you think? I offered myself up and god, was there a line. A twelve year old whore? I was a rarity.” She answered, sniffing. Josh stilled.

“And after a while, I had enough money and I wanted to leave. But, of course, they didn’t let me go. So I killed them, took all the money they had and left.” She finished, looking and Josh with a hesitant smile. 

Y/N didn’t expect him to say anything for a while, so she stayed in the corner of her bathtub and waited for the inevitable disgust and departure.

“I’m killing him. The prick in the elevator, I’m going to tie him up and throw him off of the roof of the building. Right now.” Josh declared, getting up.

“Wait, Josh-.”

“No. He-He reminded you of something you’d never want to think of again. He  _ hurt _ you, and he’s got hell to pay.” He said, taking his jacket off and hanging it on the door. Y/N just stared at him as the intense need to cry came back, and she hiccupped. Josh turned back, kneeling in front of her again.

“What is it?” Josh asked, frowning concernedly. Y/N just shook her head and hugged him, trying to avoid getting water on him.

“Thank you.” She sniffed and pulled away, smiling at him despite the tears. He smiled and stood up, handing her a towel and looking away. He heard the water moving around and the towel left his hands. 

Josh kept his eyes focused on the corner of the bathroom until he felt a hand on his shoulder and a kiss on his cheek.

“I believe you missed.” He said softly as he opened his eyes to look at her, making the woman laugh and kiss him on the lips.

“Kill him tomorrow; I don’t want to leave just yet.” She said, and Josh nodded before kissing her again, pulling her close and making sure her cold skin was warm by the time he was finished.

-

It was silent and Josh was on the rooftop. A man was stuck in a complex array of knots and a kick away from a deadly drop. His screams and pleads were muffled by a gag made from his own socks and Josh just looked at him.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,  _ buddy _ . I’m going to untie you,” He started, ignoring the man’s moan of relief.

“Then, you’re going to apologise to my good friend you insulted in the elevator a few days ago.” Josh continued, and the stranger nodded profusely, his agreement muffled and slightly annoying. He sighed and took the gag out of his mouth. The stranger coughed a few times before looking around.

“W-where is she?” He asked, seconds away from crying. Josh smirked and kneeled in front of him.

“She’s not here right now. You have to deal with me for a little bit, okay?” He explained, watching the man frown and look around a bit more. Josh dropped the smirk and stood up, only to kick the man in the jaw.

He flew back with a screech, his tied hands and feet doing nothing to help him break his fall backwards. The man felt the wind brush through his hair as his head hung over the ledge, which made him start trying to wiggle away pathetically.

“Please, p-please, don’t hurt me.” He begged, tears falling down his face. Josh grabbed him by his shirt and moved him away from the edge, making the stranger sob out of relief.

“I wish I could just chuck you over like the piece of shit you are, but I promised I’d leave that to her.” Josh hissed before punching him in the face, breaking his nose. 

“And trust me; if you think I’m scary, you’ve seen nothing.” He laughed darkly and left him crying on the floor.

Suddenly, the door to the rooftop opened and the man tried to turn his head to see who it was but at this point he didn’t care.

“HELP! THIS MAN IS GOING TO KILL ME! CALL THE POLI-!” He started to shout desperately, but stopped when a foot pushed down on his throat, making him choke and struggle to breathe. A familiar face came into his line of sight and his eye widened.

“Hey, dude. Remember me?” Y/N smirked, pulling his head back with his hair and pushing her foot down even more. Josh watched her silently, massaging his knuckles. The guy had a weirdly hard face.

Soon enough, the pompous prick started struggling and trying to get away from the pressure on his neck, and when he was seconds away from unconsciousness, Y/N took her foot off of his neck and he took in deep, desperate breaths.

“Help…please, stop.” He gasped, trying to pull his hands and feet free. They just watched as he unknowingly moved closer to the fatal drop.

“I would stop there, unless you want to fall.” Josh commented, making the man freeze. Y/N crouched next to the stranger’s face and put a hand on his throat. 

“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” She pouted, watching the man sob and nod fervently. Y/N stroked his face for a few moments before suddenly digging her nails into his skin.

“Does that hurt?” She asked, pout and sympathetic voice long gone. Before the man could answer, her other hand grabbed her knife and put the blade where her nails had been, making a deep cut. He screamed and struggled in his bonds as blood soaked his hair.

“Does it?” She asked more forcefully, dragging the knife to his neck.

“YES! Yes, it hurts, please stop! Please, please, please.” He begged loudly, making Y/N sigh and put the knife away.

“Not enough?” Josh asked from behind her.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s missing.” She complained. Josh stood over the man, arms crossed over his chest.

Y/N thought for a second, tapping her fingers over the man’s face.

“We could always tie a noose and then chuck him over.” Josh offered, and Y/N face lit up.

“Yes!” She squealed, leaving the guy alone for a second to get some more rope. With haunting practice, she tied a noose and put it around the man, handing the other end to Josh, who tied it to one of the concrete poles protruding from the floor.

“Please, I –I’ll give you anything you want, don’t-!” He pleaded, but quickly started screaming like a little girl when Y/N pushed him over the edge. The rope whizzed down for a few seconds before going taut and an awful crunch came from further down the building.

The woman looked down and nodded before walking back from the edge.

“Dead?”

“As doornails.” She confirmed and grabbed Josh by the shirt, dragging him down the stairs and back inside the building. He followed with an amused grin and soon enough they were in their own room, kissing and making a mess in the process.

As Y/N’s hand went under Josh’s shirt, he froze. Immediately, Y/N removed her hand and cupped his cheek.

“You okay? Sorry, I shouldn’t have-.”

“It’s fine, I just need- I want- cuddle with me?” He asked quietly, and she nodded, letting him take her to the bed and hold her tight, his chin pressed against the top of her head.

Cars drove by, horns went off, and then the classic sound of ambulances and police sirens filled the air, and neither of the two moved from the bed. A scream, then two. A normal evening, in their book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fucking fINALLY


	6. Breaking News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wasn't 100% done with kissing the man and she doubted that she ever would be.

 

**-**

Y/N woke up way earlier than she wanted to, just catching the sunrise. She sighed and was about to get up when she realized she had an arm around her waist and a warm body pressed against her back.

Josh.

She smiled and turned around, making Josh hold her tighter in his sleep. 

Y/N started placing kisses all over his face, going from his forehead to his nose until she heard his chest rumble with a content laugh. 

 

“Good morning.” Y/N whispered, mirroring Josh's smile. He kissed her softly, pulling her even closer. Y/N put her hands on his shoulders, grazing against his neck slightly, loving every second this kiss has to offer.

Josh reluctantly pulled away, making the woman frown, and as an apology he kissed her on the tip of her nose. She giggled and let him go, stretching out on the bed as Josh stood up and went to the bathroom.

Y/N got up and grabbed a drink from the mini bar, sitting on the little table with her legs crossed. 

The telltale noise of a shower starting made her sigh. She wasn't 100% done with kissing the man and she doubted that she ever would be. The idea of joining him seemed like a good one for a few moments, but then the memory of how he reacted when things started getting heavy last night was enough to put her off. 

Y/N took off her clothes and grabbed some shorts and a shirt that she had grabbed before, putting them on and smiling at the reflection in the big mirror.

The shower stopped and a few moments later out came Josh, (unfortunately) fully clothed with wet hair dripping onto his shirt. 

Y/N, who was sitting on the bed, grabbed the man's belt and pulled him in close enough so that she could kiss him again, this time with more energy and vigor.

Josh hummed contentedly and smiled when she broke away.

“We gotta think about leaving soon.” Josh whispered, his hands gliding up from her thighs to her waist. 

“I know.” She said simply before kissing him again. 

“I'm being serious.” Josh smiled, but kissed her after anyway.

A few minutes passed, and Josh was on the bed with Y/N in his lap, casually making out, as psychopaths would.

“Where do you wanna go now?” Y/N asked, slightly breathless. Josh sighed, also trying to get his breath back.

“Uh, LA, maybe?” He offered.

“Sounds great. Let's check out and hit the road, we'll get there tomorrow noon if we start now.” She said, starting to get up but Josh held her back for one more slow kiss.

He looked at her and she looked at him. The world outside no longer existed and everything was okay. 

“I can't believe how amazing you are.” He whispered, genuinely taken aback. She blushed and this time managed to stand up.

“Let's go, pretty boy. You can shower me with compliments when we get to LA.” She said, grabbing her bags and opening the door. Josh did the same and followed after her. They quickly checked out at the reception and Josh's car was returned to him.

 

However, the second they drove out of the hotel driveway, police cars could be heard and seen coming down the street. Fast.

“Crap.” Josh hissed. Somehow they had been caught. Maybe the cameras? It didn't matter how, they just knew.

Y/N was thinking the exact same thing and when Josh tore out into the street, she thought nothing of it.

For a few moments, there was silence, but then the familiar wail of police sirens filled the air. Josh’s blood was suddenly alight with adrenaline, as he remembered his old days. Suddenly, Y/N wasn’t in the passenger seat, but someone else, laughing loudly without a care in the world. Rain fell on them and euphoria clouded their rationality. But, as quick as it came, the memory left and Josh saw the woman again.

“Have a plan?” Y/N asked, completely calm.

“You trust me?” Josh asked and Y/N raised a brow at the man.

“Duh. What do we do?”

“I need you to go into the trunk. The seats detach. Can you do that?” He asked, making a sharp turn into the exit of the city.

“Yes, I can do that, I'm not a fucking child.” Y/N stretched,  climbing over the seats and making the seat collapse so that she could slip in. 

“Now what?” She yelled, her voice muffled slightly.

“You see the thing that vaguely resembles a grenade launcher? Grab it.” Josh hollered, glancing at his rear view mirror and sighing at the sight of more cars. The man tried his hardest to stay away from innocent bystanders. If he was going to kill someone, it would be with his own hands, not because he’s running from the cops.

“How did you get this?” Y/N asked but got no answer, Josh was driving too fast to focus on anything else at the moment.

Y/N retrieved the grenade launcher and positioned herself on the backseat, her elbows resting on the seats and her knees bent. She put in a grenade and took in a deep breath.

“Josh, honey, stay still for a bit will you?” She shouted sarcastically, and when the car stilled for a few seconds, she aimed, and pulled the trigger.

The grenade hit the leading car, making it and the others around it explode, pulling the vehicles behind them to a standstill. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before letting the launcher fall to the floor of the car and climbing back over to the front.

Y/N sighed and wiped her face, looking back and seeing fire and smoke.

“That’ll leave a dent.” She joked, not bothering with her seatbelt. They drove for a few minutes in silence, watching the scenery change from the bustling city to the empty plains.

“You okay?” Josh asked, glancing over at her. She shook her head and sighed.

“Nope.”

Josh wanted to press but knew better, and kept on driving.

After an hour, Josh pulled over and with a sigh he let his forehead rest against the driver’s wheel. Y/N didn’t say anything; she just let the silence wash over them both.

“We need to lie low for a while, probably a few months until the hype dies down.” Josh said tiredly, rubbing his face and looking around, making sure no one was nearby. The silence dragged on and he looked at the woman in the passenger seat, who was already looking at him.

He smiled weakly and put a hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch and sighed, closing her eyes.

“I promise you, no one is going to find us. I have a place that you’re going to love.” He reassured her, pulling her into a hug. Y/N hugged him back and took in a deep breath.

“My parents are probably going to stop looking for me now.” She tried to laugh, but a sob came out instead and Josh simply held her tighter, letting her cry.

Although she never said another word, even after they broke their hug and even after Josh started driving again, Josh knew she was scared. It was normal to be scared.

He had been scared the first time he was on the run.

So he knew better than anyone that having someone running with you makes it easier.

-

Josh swerved for what felt like the millionth time as he fought to stay awake. Y/N had fallen asleep hours ago, but he had kept on driving. They still had a whole day of driving ahead of them and he wanted to get to the hideout as soon as possible.

But when he fell asleep again and this time drifted to the other side of the road, he woke up to the sound of a car horn and headlights glaring at him. Y/N woke up at the same time and they both screamed as Josh yanked the wheel back to their side and stopped in the middle of the now empty road.

They took a few seconds to catch their breath and then Y/N looked over at Josh with wild eyes.

And then they started laughing.

“Let me drive, Josh. You’re gonna get us killed.” Y/N snickered, getting out of the car and barely keeping herself up through her giggles. Josh simply stretched over and climbed onto the back seats which were surprisingly comfortable.

Y/N patted his knee and then started driving. Josh looked at the night sky, the stars racing past him as the speed picked up.

“Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“…Where are we going again?”

“Just keep on going for a while, wake me up at dawn.” He yawned, letting sleep finally take over. 

Y/N smiled weakly and stared at the open road, the wind whistling into her ears.

_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are y'all ready for something the teens call a hella gay backstory w Josh? Get ready for it in chapter ? . >u>


	7. I Was Meant To Be Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh silently showed her the picture he was holding. It showed two young boys smiling in front of a tree house that looked new and cosy.
> 
> “Is that you?” She asked and he nodded.

The silence was worse than the long drive. Y/N had not spoken in hours, which was unusual for her. Once he had woken up and taken the driving position, Josh had tried to start conversations or even make her say something, but so far all he would get would be a nod or a smile that never felt real. It was worrying, even if Josh understood. It would take time, but he knew she’d be okay.

Josh sighed once again, looking at the fuel gauge. Time to stop once more, maybe for the last time. He pulled into the gas station and hopped out, filling the tank as fast as he could, the risk of being recognized being too big for him to dawdle.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Y/N said quietly, slowly getting out of the car.

“Okay, don’t be too long.” Josh replied, hiding his relief at her words. After a few more moments, the tank was full and the man went in to pay. He grabbed some drinks and snacks; there wouldn’t be much at the hideout that would be edible anymore.

After quickly paying for everything, he walked back to the car and frowned when he didn’t see Y/N there. He hadn’t been long, but long enough for her to be back by now. He looked around and saw the sign for the restroom and quickly walked over, knocking on the locked disabled door.

“Y/N?” He asked through the door, taking the chance that she would be in there.

“Who the fuck is Y/N?” A gruff voice replied, the door opening to show a man with way too many layers of plaid frowning. Behind him was another guy who looked embarrassed.

“O-oh, sorry, man, I’m just looking for my friend.” Josh stammered as walked out.

“We haven’t seen her, we’ve been in there for a while.” The quiet guy said eloquently, making the angry guy choke on his own spit and grab the back of the blue eyed man’s shirt, pulling him away from Josh.

With a barely hidden smile, Josh walked off, trying to spot Y/N.

“-yeah, I know. I know, I’m sorry.” A familiar voice said quietly. Josh frowned and followed it, going behind the building.

“Listen, I gotta go. They could be tracking our phones.” It was Y/N. Her back was turned to Josh, leaning against the wall on her shoulder.

“I love you too, bye.” She hung up and turned around, tears on her cheeks and wide eyed. Nothing was said for a few seconds.

“I made sure the call was short. I’m sorry, I had to call her.” Her sister. Of course.

“It’s okay, I get it.” Josh reassured her and for the first time in hours, she smiled. Properly. She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek before grabbing his hand.

“Let’s go.” She said softly, and they went back to the car, Y/N taking the wheel.

They drove on for a couple hours, finally turning on the radio and jamming along to a fairly decent radio station. By the time they were even close, the pair were much calmer and relaxed.

“Turn here.” Josh said suddenly, making Y/N frown slightly, turning anyway.

“Where is this place?” She asked as they drove through a dirt road. A few minutes later, an opening appeared and a decently sized house could be seen.

“Welcome to Casa del Josh Dun. We have privacy, barely any phone signal, broken Wi-Fi, and chewing gum from the nineties.” Josh said as Y/N came to a stop. They both got out and carried their stuff up to the door.

“Do you have the keys?” Y/N asked.

“Duh, of course.” Josh said before suddenly kicking the door open. Y/N jumped and Josh sighed.

“Left them at my other house, though.” He explained before walking in. The woman behind him laughed and propped up the door behind her. Looking around, they noticed one major detail.

Every single damn thing was covered in dust.

“Damn, Dun, when was the last time you came here?” Y/N commented, putting her bags down.

“I honestly don’t remember, maybe ten, twelve years ago. Hence the expired food.” Josh grimaced as he opened the fridge, his face going from disgust to soft sadness as he pulled out a can of Dr Pepper.

“Wow, that’s the old packaging.” Y/N laughed, looking into the fridge over his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Josh muttered, staring at the can. Y/N grabbed a cloth and started to clean the dust off of the kitchen counter. He put the can back in and closed the fridge.

“I’ll go turn on the water and electricity.” Josh said quietly, heading out. Y/N frowned, watching him go, but shrugged and got back to work.

After a good half hour of cleaning, most of the place was in a decent condition. The lights were working and there was water clean enough to drink. Y/N sighed contentedly at the sight of a dust-less living room before going to the bedroom where Josh was.

The room was still slightly dusty, but Josh was sitting on the floor, his bright yellow hair a dead giveaway. He was focused on something in his hands and without a word, Y/N went over, putting a hand on the back of his neck. Josh snapped out of his thoughts and smiled tiredly at her as she sat down next to him.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked, playing with the hair at the back of his head. Josh silently showed her the picture he was holding. It showed two young boys smiling in front of a tree house that looked new and cosy.

“Is that you?” She asked and he nodded.

“That’s Tyler. His dad had finished building our tree house and we were over the fucking moon.” Josh laughed emptily.

Y/N didn’t say anything, just looked at the picture and rested her head against his shoulder.

“Fuck, I haven’t heard from him in years.” Josh sighed, rubbing his face.

“Hey, hey, let’s focus on something else.” Y/N said, putting one hand on each side of his face and making him look at her. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. She quickly put the picture back in the box near him before shoving it back under the bed.

Suddenly, Josh pulled Y/N onto his lap, making her yelp.

“We haven’t had any fun lately, have we?” Josh asked coyly, giving Y/N a smirk. Instead of answering him, she simply pulled him into a kiss and let the feelings distract them from reality for a while.

And this time, when Y/N softly put her hand under his shirt, Josh didn’t pull away. Instead, he just pulled her closer.

-

The sun had set a while ago, but that didn’t stop them. Their shirts were somewhere, they didn’t care. The only thing stopping them was the sound of Josh’s stomach. Y/N broke the kiss to laugh as did Josh.

“What’s for dinner, good sir?” Y/N asked, reluctantly getting up.

“I grabbed some things at the gas station.” Josh answered, also getting up but quickly pulling Y/N in by her wrist. She smiled at him and gave him another slow kiss.

“Come on, goofball, let’s eat.” She walked off. Josh stopped for a few seconds and stared at the empty space where she once was.

_“Come on, ya goofball, I’m hungry!” He giggled, pulling Josh along by the arm._

_“Okay, okay, hold on, baby.” Josh laughed, letting the man drag him to the kitchen. Josh knew he’d get to kiss him a bit more before he got fussy._

Josh took in another deep breath, and went to the kitchen, trying to shove the memories into the darkest corner of his mind, where they had always been.

Y/N grabbed two sandwiches and some sweets, along with a couple of Cokes before sitting on the counter and opening the packaging. Josh grabbed his sandwich and sat next to her.

“Are you okay?” She asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah, just tired.” Josh answered, finishing his drink.

“You sure it’s just that?” She asked again, smiling knowingly. Josh sighed and put his face in his hands. Y/N jumped off of the counter and stood in front of him, pulling his hands away and putting them on her hips.

Josh felt her wrap her arms around him and he almost melted into the embrace.

“You can tell me if you want. You listened to my baggage, I want to return the favour.” She said softly into his ear.

He was quiet for a while, just listening to the sound of the insects and nothing else from outside.

“Later.” Josh breathed out, and Y/N nodded, letting him go.

“Just this once, you get first shower.” She smiled, kissing him on the centre of his forehead.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew how good this shower is, but no take backs.” Josh said, going to the bathroom.

“I’ll know later. Go on, you stink.” Y/N laughed, heading off to the bedroom. Josh sighed and went into the bathroom.

“Shit.” He mumbled, wiping away the tears before they could fall.

It was too much.

He was everywhere. The Dr Pepper, the fucking ugly pillows on the bed, even his old shitty deodorant/perfume was still on the sink counter.

“Fucking Tyler Joseph.” He whispered, looking at his reflection.

“Fuck.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next is a bonus chapter because I'm nice and also a super joshler fan. ur welc.


	8. BONUS CHAPTER: Save Our Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After half an hour, it looked like nothing had happened.
> 
> Except for the fact that Tyler still had blood all over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank not only Redbull but also spite for helping me finish this in about an hour lmao get ready for Gay Stuff y'all

 

-

It was sometime in the early 2000’s, the golden age of the 90’s behind them, and Josh Dun was reluctantly walking into his new house in Columbus, Ohio. The fourteen year old took one look into the empty house and almost ran back into the car if it wasn’t for his mother, who handed him his box of things with a cheery smile.

“Come on, Joshua, take these upstairs. You get the room on the left.” She said, kissing him on the forehead and nudging him into the house before going back to the car to get more boxes. Josh sighed and went up the stairs, looking around. The new house was nothing like his old one and he hated it already.

He found the door on the left and pushed it open slowly, taking in the room which would be his for a while. It was a nice size, enough room for all his things even with the bed and chest of drawers. Josh put his box down on the bed and opened the curtains.

The view wasn’t much; the only thing visible was the house next door. The window that lined up with his had the curtains drawn, and there wasn’t anything else interesting to see, so Josh went back downstairs to get the rest of his boxes.

-

The first few days of living in Columbus were uneventful. Josh spent his time indoors, refusing to leave the house until school started, which was still a few weeks away. His parents didn’t like his idea as much as he did, and so after three days without going outdoors, he was shoved outside and told to “explore the neighbourhood”.

“This is how teenagers get kidnapped.” Josh grumbled as he walked down the sidewalk, kicking some loose stones on the way. He barely got a few steps away when he came face to face with a boy.

“Um…?” Josh said, slightly startled. The boy smiled.

“I’m Tyler. You live next door to me, right?” Tyler said, pointing to Josh’s house.

“Yeah, I do. I-I’m Josh.” He stuttured.

“Nice to meet you, Joshua.” Tyler smiled, and Josh found himself smiling back.

-

The first year of living in Columbus was the exact opposite of uneventful. After meeting Tyler, Josh would spend 90% of his free time with the boy and soon became best friends, even more so when school started and they discovered that they went to the same school (which wasn’t as surprising as it was, but it helped knowing there would be a friend with them that year).

If Josh wasn’t at Tyler’s house, Tyler would be at Josh’s, and if they weren’t at the houses, they would be in the forest that was behind their houses, playing around and talking about life.  They even had their own tree which served as a landmark for the boys.

Tyler would sit in this natural little dip made by the roots of the tree, and Josh would sit right next to him, no matter how uncomfortable. He just wanted to be as near to the boy as possible.

And as the months went by, Josh couldn’t imagine life without Tyler Joseph.

-

“I need help.” Tyler said the second Josh picked up his phone.

“Where are you?” Josh replied immediately with a frown on his face, grabbing his coat and running down the stairs.

“At the tree, bring your dad’s shovel and hurry!” Tyler hissed urgently and hung up. Josh put his phone in his pocket and called out to his mother, telling her he was heading out and would be back later. Before he could hear her response, he went into the garden, grabbed the shovel and jumped over the fence, running to the forest as fast as he could. In a few minutes he could see Tyler, his back turned to Josh.

 “What’s wrong?” Josh panted, and Tyler turned around, covered in blood. Josh’s eyes widened, later seeing a furry mess on the floor.

“What…?” Josh asked, confused. Tyler looked extremely nervous.

“I’ll explain but you can’t tell anyone about this.” Tyler stuttered, his hands shaking.

“O-Of course, what do you need me to do?” Josh said immediately, and Tyler relaxed.

“I need to bury the cat, you have the shovel right?” Tyler said, grabbing what was left of the cat.

“Yeah, yeah, where do you want to bury it?” Tyler pointed at the base of a different tree and Josh got to digging, making a decent enough hole for Tyler to shove the cat in. After half an hour, it looked like nothing had happened.

Except for the fact that Tyler still had blood all over him.

“Dude, what did you do?” Josh asked quietly, after a few moments of silence.

“I-I don’t know, I was trying to write some lyrics down and the fucking thing wouldn’t stop meowing and I got so pissed, I just- I didn’t mean to-.” Tyler hiccupped.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Josh blurted, watching the tears fall down his best friend’s face.

“I didn’t mean to kill it, Josh.” Tyler sobbed, his hands curling into fists as he tried to stop crying.

Josh silently stepped forward and tenderly wiped the tears off of Tyler’s cheeks. The boys looked at each other for a few seconds and Tyler took in a shaky breath, calming himself down.

“It doesn’t matter. Okay? I’m not going anywhere, no one else will know, and I’m not telling anyone, I swear.” Josh said with such certainty that Tyler felt his heart jump into his mouth, rendering him speechless. So instead of talking, he leaned forward and kissed Josh with a tenderness he never knew.

Josh stilled for a second, but once his mind caught up with reality, he pulled Tyler closed and kissed him back.

Tyler pulled away and gave the other boy a shy smile.

“Thank you.” Tyler whispered.

Josh simply replied with another kiss, holding the boy’s bloody hand.

-

The stupid cat was the first of many, and the kiss was also. Tyler kept slipping up, killing things that pissed him off. Noisy dogs, the teacher’s parrot, anything that even slightly got on his nerves. And Josh always had his shovel ready, along with some wet wipes and more kisses.

Another year went by, their parents managed to get permission to build a tree-house on their tree which became more of a home than their houses. Their graveyard was the forest and their tree was their safe haven. Everything was okay.

Then Josh killed. But this time it wasn’t an animal.

Tyler was awake, later than he should’ve been, almost three in the morning, when he heard his phone vibrate with a text message.

Josh – ‘i need help’

Tyler – ‘what’s wrong?’

Josh – ‘come to the tree’

Tyler grabbed a coat and put on some scruffy shoes before sneaking out and making his way down the familiar pathway. Soon enough, he was at the tree, but Josh was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder and Tyler would’ve screamed if not for the kiss that came seconds later. Tyler melted into Josh’s embrace and smiled.

“What are you doing here?” Tyler whispered, looking into the boys eyes. Josh’s smile faded slightly and he looked over Tyler’s shoulder.

Tyler followed his gaze and gasped quietly. There was a body, propped against the tree but slouched at an unnatural angle.

“Wait, i-is that…?”

“Jefferson.” Josh confirmed, an angry edge in his voice.

Tyler walked over to the body and his eyes widened at all the bruises and cuts all over his arms and face.

“I was walking home and he walked with me, started talking about you again. I couldn’t listen anymore, Ty.” Josh explained, looking away when Tyler looked back at him.

“Hey.” Tyler said softly, walking over to him and cupped his cheek, making Josh look at him. When he did, Tyler kissed him softly, tears in his eyes.

“You’re so good to me.” Tyler whispered; his voice cracking. Josh closed his eyes and Tyler started putting kisses all over his face until Josh laughed.

“Let’s bury this asshole.” Tyler smiled, and Josh nodded, grabbing the body and slinging it over his shoulder. Tyler quickly grabbed the shovel and helped him. They walked deep into the forest until they could no longer see the lights of the town, then buried the boy without a care.

As they walked back hand in hand, Josh started to walk back home when Tyler tugged him in the direction of the tree-house. With a curious frown, Josh climbed up with him. The second Josh closed the trapdoor, he was pulled into a strong kiss.

By the time the sun rose, they were cuddling underneath the warm blanket, naked and content.

After that, they were never the same.

-

It was 2006, just after Christmas, and Tyler and Josh were in Los Angeles. It had always been their plan to leave the second the both of them were 18, and the moment the clock struck midnight on December the first, they were gone.

They had to lay low for a while, their families were looking all over for them even with the notes they left explaining why there were gone.

But that didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was them. They were finally free.

They found a cabin in the middle of nowhere, where they spent most of their time at first, simply enjoying each other and the freedom that came with their new lives.

-

“Josh.”

“…Josh.”

“Joshua.”

“Mh. What.”

“I need help.”

With that, Josh opened his eyes and was greeted with the familiar sight known as Tyler Joseph covered in blood.

“Dammit, Joseph.” Josh said with no malice in his voice as he sat up, “What happened?”

Tyler simply laughed and put himself in Josh’s lap, pulling him into a deep kiss.

“I’ve found this group.” Tyler started, and as his kisses trailed lower, he told Josh of this group of people just like them; Murder fanatics, eager to kill anything that could be killed.

“Alright, alright, you don’t need to suck my dick to convince me to join them with you.” Josh panted, but Tyler just grinned.

“I know, doesn’t mean I won’t though.”

“Fuck you.”

And he did.

-

The group was an absolute mess. There were about twenty people, unorganized and insane, but after a few weeks, Tyler had convinced them all to listen to him for a change, instead of just killing left right and centre.

Plans were made, schemes were plotted, and by the year 2010, they had killed over a hundred people with this group.

But there was a problem Josh needed to talk about. Things were getting out of hand; the plans were getting more and more reckless. Tyler was letting the bloodlust get to him, and Josh could barely recognize the boy he fell in love with what felt like centuries ago.

It was when the orphanage plan hit the table that Josh had had enough.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Josh asked, storming into the room where Tyler was cleaning his guns that he had acquired over the years.

“What are you talking about?” Tyler asked, putting the gun down.

“I’m talking about the fucking orphanage, Tyler.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes, that! Who came up with the fucking plan to blow up a house full of children, and how the hell did you even get everyone to approve it?” Josh shouted, knowing damn well everyone else in the building could hear him, but he didn’t give a shit at this point.

Tyler frowned and stepped closer to Josh.

“I came up with the plan, Josh.”

Josh let out a sigh of disbelief, looking at Tyler with wide eyes.

“I don’t even know you anymore, man.” Josh said quietly, his shoulders falling.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to take part.” Tyler said as if it were obvious.

“That’s not the problem. If you’re going to go through with this, I can’t stay.” Josh said softly, looking at his shoes. Tyler put a hand on Josh’s cheek and sighed.

“Josh, you swore to me that you’d always be here. You can’t just leave because one plan upset you.” Tyler said, a slight condescending edge in his voice. Josh moved away from the man’s touch and went to the door.

“Watch me.”

And he left.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woops


	9. Blurryface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘BLURRYFACE IS BACK, GET OUT OF CALIFORNIA.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love this chap sm I've outshooken myself help

 

-

Y/N held Josh as he told her everything, her heart breaking for him. Although she couldn’t relate, she knew how hard it must’ve been for this amazing, loving man to leave the one person he loved the most. As Josh silently cried, she kissed his forehead and did her best to comfort him as much as she could.

“Is there anything I can do?” Y/N asked softly. Josh sniffed and looked her, eyes red and full of pain.

“You’re doing it.” His voice cracked and he smiled weakly. She smiled back and kissed his forehead before pulling him into a close hug. Josh was understandably tired and after a few minutes of having his hair played with he was sleeping, snoring quietly.

Y/N made sure he was asleep and reached for her phone, which was in her pocket. There was just something in the back of her mind, something from Josh’s history that sounded awfully familiar.

An orphanage, a group of mass murderers, it all sounded like something she had heard of before.

She opened an obscure browser and before long, she figured it out.

-

Josh woke up to the sound of something being fried. He frowned in confusion and patted the bed, finally opening his eyes when he didn’t find the woman next to him.

“Y/N?” He called out sleepily, getting up and stumbling into the kitchen.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Y/N smiled, moving some bacon around in a frying pan, “I hope you don’t mind that I left, but I needed bacon.”

Josh shook his head and walked over to her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“It’s fine. Any more news on us?” He asked and Y/N shook her head.

“The police are still looking in the state, but they think we’ve left the country.” She said.

“Why would the police even say that publicly?” Josh asked, sitting down and leaning on the counter.

“They didn’t. I had a friend hack into their systems for me, just to make sure.” She told him with a knowing smile.

“It feels like you know the whole illegal world.” Josh commented, making Y/N laugh. She finished frying the final piece of bacon and put it on a plate in front of Josh before getting the rest of the ingredients needed for a BLT and sitting down opposite Josh.

In seconds, they were stuffing their faces and making conversation until they ran out of bacon.

“I’ll clean up.” Josh said quickly, grabbing the nearest dirty plates and ignoring Y/N’s protests.

“

“Hm…doing the dishes sounds awfully boring.” Y/N said coyly, making Josh turn around with a smile.

“Oh, really? What else did you have in mind?” He asked, watching her walk towards him until she was pressed against him, her hands on his chest.

“Well…I did want to go to LA, but that’s out of the question.” She pouted.

“Sorry about that, baby girl, something’s just can’t be helped.” Josh said, loving this game she played.

“And don’t get me wrong, I love this place. But…I’m pretty sure you promised me a road trip.” She said innocently, her hands going behind his neck. Josh put his hands on her waist and pretended to think about it.

“I think we can arrange something, but I think I need some more convincing.” Josh replied and smiled when Y/N leaned in for one of her signature deep kisses.

“That enough?” She asked after a few minutes of heavy kissing, panting slightly.

“Nope.” Josh said, making her laugh before returning to his lips.

-

Y/N was still trying to get her breath back, as was Josh as they both lay on the bed, both naked and definitely not clean anymore.

“How about now?”

“I’m convinced.” Josh laughed, and in seconds the two of them were laughing like idiots.

“I feel like I’ve known you forever.” Y/N confessed. It had barely been two months yet it felt like two years.

“I wish I had met you years ago.” Josh whispered, looking into her eyes. They stayed there for a moment or two, just looking at each other.

“Wanna shower with me?” Y/N asked all of a sudden. Josh nodded and kissed her. She got up and smiled at Josh before disappearing into the bathroom. He laughed quietly to himself and sighed.

Things were good.

-

Days turned into weeks at the cabin, time flew by as Josh and Y/N learned more about each other. The past couldn’t touch them and the world outside ceased to exist. It was paradise.

Y/N relaxed on the sofa, going through her phone to see what was happening around the world until a certain message on the forum caught her eye.

‘BLURRYFACE IS BACK, GET OUT OF CALIFORNIA.’

“Josh?” Y/N called out from the sofa, phone in her hand.

“Yeah?” Josh answered, walking into the living room and sitting next to her.

“Does the name Blurryface sound familiar to you?” She asked hesitantly, feeling him tense up . He knew exactly who he was. Tyler wouldn’t shut up about how cool that would be as a name in the criminal world

“What about him.” He asked quietly.

“He’s back from his reign of terror in Mexico, word has it that he’s back in Cali.” Y/N said, showing him the forum. He gulped and put a hand through his hair.

“We need to go.” He said emptily.

“I know. I’ll go pack.” She said, giving him a reassuring kiss on the cheek before heading off to the bedroom where everything was.

As she packed, Josh stayed where he was. Maybe, just maybe, they’d be okay. Tyler had left him alone so far, who’s to say he won’t leave him alone for another year or so? Josh tried to convince himself that things would be okay, and he was almost there when his phone buzzed with a text notification.

With shaking hands, he opened it.

Unknown Number -  ‘heard that you’ve been having a wild time with this Y/N. why don’t you introduce her to me?’

“Shit.” Josh hissed, putting his phone back in his pocket.

He had to make a plan, and he needed to make one fast. Josh knew Tyler, he knew that “introduce her to me” was his way of saying “she’s going to die”. If she was going to live, she needed to go.

‘But she won’t leave you like that, you know this.’ His mind whispered.

‘Shit, shit, shit.’ He hissed again.

She has to leave. She’s going to die if she stays, she’s going to die if she stays, she’s going to die if she staysshe’sgoingto _die_ -

“Josh, I can’t find your NASA shirt! I need it!” Y/N yelled, pulling Josh out of the fog his mind had put him in.

“It’s in the bathroom, where you left it.” He shouted back, making his voice as stable as possible.

How could he make her leave?

Josh hesitated for a second then hardened his gaze.

It was the only way.

-

“I’m done! Do you want to take anything else?” Y/N called out after half an hour of silence, and frowned when she didn’t get a reply.

“Josh?” She called out again, walking into the living room with her bags in hand and seeing the bright haired man standing , staring at the ground.

“Josh…?” She asked hesitantly.

“You need to leave.” He said emptily.

“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked, hesitantly walking over to him.

“Look, Y/N, we had fun, but this has gotten out of control.” Josh said, turning to look at her with a dead gaze. Y/N frowned and tried to make sense of what was happening.

“Josh, what are you talking about?” Y/N tried to laugh, but it came out wrong. Josh took in a deep breath.

“I don’t know why I let myself get carried away, but you’re just some glorified whore who got bored of fucking strangers and wanted a change, and I’m done.” He said emptily.

Y/N physically recoiled at the words, tears burning her eyes and her heart hammering away in her chest.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Y/N choked out.

“You are. Get out.” Josh spat out, looking at her as if she was a pile of trash. She held back a sob and glared at him.

“I cannot believe you.” She barely managed to hiss before walking to the door, making sure to not even get slightly close to him. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and slammed it behind her with a force that made the glass in the windows shake.

Josh counted to a hundred, making sure he could hear her footsteps getting fainter before breaking down and falling back onto the sofa.

“She’s going to be okay now, Joshua. She’s gone and he won’t hurt her anymore.” He whispered to himself. He knew he did the right thing.

But if it was the right thing, why did it hurt so much?

-

The tears felt hot on her cheeks as she walked off. Getting a car wouldn’t be a problem; she could just hitchhike until she found a decent car and kill the driver later. She wiped away the tears angrily as the road came into view. Luckily it was still daytime, late afternoon, at least a few cars had to come by.

She stayed on the side of the road, holding her hand up and making sure she showed a lot of skin to raise her chances of getting a ride, and after a tedious hour, a car finally stopped. It was an absolutely amazing one, a classic just like Josh’s. The thought burned in her mind and she quickly shoved it out of the limelight as the car stopped.

Walking over, she put on her act and got in the car, readying a smile and a pathetic story to move the driver, but as she turned to face him, the words died in her mouth.

“Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Blurryface, but you must know me as Tyler.” Tyler smirked, and before Y/N could scream, a hand holding a rag covered her mouth and after a few moments of struggle, the drugs in the rag took effect and Y/N felt herself fade away into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha woops again


	10. Time to Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A scuffle, a cry of pain, and then silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS SHORT FOR A REASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! do not get mad pls ty thank (it has changed woops)

It took Josh a few days to get used to the quiet known as being alone. No more chatter or laughter, hell he was already feeling the pang that came with the lack of human touch or interaction. But there was nothing he could do.

Y/N was gone, and he had to stay away if he wanted her to live out the rest of her life.

After a couple of days isolated in the old cabin, he decided that enough was enough. After packing his things, he left on an early Sunday morning and headed to Los Angeles.

The drive was exhausting, spending nights in his car and hidden from sight, not wanting to risk a motel just for the sake of comfort.

It was only after he got to LA that his phone went off, and on instinct he picked up without checking to see who it was.

“Hello?” He asked, but all he heard on the other end was heavy breathing and a weird scraping sound.

“J-Josh.” A familiar voice gasped out, and Josh stilled, barely managing to pull over and stop.

“Y/N?”

A scuffle, a cry of pain, and then silence.

“Hi, Joshie boy, didn’t think you’d pick up, to be honest.” Tyler’s weirdly happy voice came through the phone.

“What the fuck have you done?” Josh hissed.

“Oh, not much, just my usual. You remember what that is, don’t you?” Tyler teased, and then a loud sob could be heard in the background.

“Stop it.” Josh ordered quietly, making Tyler laugh. An awful crack came through and seconds later a scream so loud Josh had to move his phone away for a split second.

“You know how this works, Josh. I’m almost disappointed that you even tried!” Tyler sighed. Josh’s hands were shaking.

“Since you’ve apparently forgotten, let me remind you how we play.” He said with a menacing tone, and Josh could do nothing but listen.

“If you can find her before next Sunday, she’s all yours.” Tyler said simply. Y/N quiet sobs could still be heard in the background, but she did nothing else.

“If not…well, you know.” He trailed off, audibly stomping on something, making Y/N cry out in pain.

“Broken bones are the best way to make people cry, if you asked me.”

“Tyler-.”

“You have a week, Joshua. I suggest you start looking.” Tyler said, hanging up and leaving Josh staring at his phone in shock.

Tyler put his phone back in his pocket and looked at the pathetic mess that was Y/N, tied up and crying like a child. He crouched down and picked up one of her knives from the floor, already covered in her blood.

He let the tip trail down her cheek as she shook.

“Personally, I don’t think he’s going to make it.” Tyler sighed, looking at the bound woman with fake pity. Y/N went silent and glared at him before spitting in his face. He stilled and wiped the spit off him before looking back at the woman with an angry gaze.

“What I’ve done so far is nothing. I have a week to fuck you up so much that not even God will recognize you.” Tyler hissed and for the first time, Y/N smirked.

“I’m an atheist, so go ahead, buddy.” She panted, her chest heaving. Tyler simply stood up and put a foot over her broken one, pressing down. Y/N choked out a sob, making the man smile.

“You’ll soon regret every taunt you’ve thrown at me, Y/N.” He said ominously before walking off, leaving Y/N crying in her chair.

One week would be a lifetime.


	11. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nail guns have to be one of my favourite things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sof ucking done i hate writing torture. in my mind it's like an oscar worthy masterpiece and all i can write is this poop

 

**-**

_Three (3) Days Before the Call…_

Y/N came to surprisingly fast considering she had been drugged. Her heartbeat couldn’t decide if it sped up or came to a complete stop, she couldn’t see or move much. Panic burst in her chest like nothing she had ever felt before as she struggled frantically. After a few minutes of needless exertion, she managed to figure out a few things:

  1. She was tied down onto a chair of some kind;
  2. The air had a weird taste to it that reminded her of old wood;
  3. She was absolutely fucked.



The quiet noise of a creaky door opening brought Y/N out of her thoughts, making her freeze almost instantly. Some footsteps, a dull thud of the door closing and then another.

Nothing was said for a few minutes. Y/N strained to hear even the tiniest of sounds, trying to find even the slightest indicator of what the actual fuck was going on. Some clanging, metallic.

Knives being sharpened was the noise that made her mentally bang her head against a wall. Torture, of course. The one thing she didn’t have any experience of from the receiving end. Oh, well, everyone has to suffer sometime.

Suddenly, the bag over her head was plucked off and Y/N squinted, expecting a blinding light, but getting a soft glow instead from the candles perched around the surfaces of the…cabin?  Before she could properly look at her surrounding, a hand roughly grabbed her chin and made her look up.

And there he was. Blurryface, famous for being an absolute fucking psychopath and not listening to anything his victims had to say, no matter what. Few survived his attacks, and even fewer enemies. None lived long enough.

“Hm. Pretty.” He commented, turning her head side to side and simply looking at her. Y/N stayed silent, fear not letting her do anything. He let go of her and went back to his table, organizing the contents on top. Y/N couldn’t see anything, but she had a few ideas.

“I don’t usually do this, but desperate times call for desperate measures.” Tyler shrugged, turning back to the woman with some weird pliers. He sat on the floor in front of her, legs crossed.

“You call your ex fucking someone almost ten years after breaking up ‘desperate times’?” Y/N said without thinking. She was so used to speaking her mind that not even a weird dude with pliers could stop her. Tyler frowned and grabbed her left foot, his cold hands making Y/N flinch.

“Don’t be crude.” The pliers locked onto the toenail on her big toe.

“Joshua isn’t that eager.” A jolt, testing the grip. And then, the inevitable.

Y/N let out a scream, throwing her head back and closing her eyes in pain. A quiet clatter seemed to echo in her ears as Tyler tossed the toenail onto the floor. Y/N panted, trying to dull the pain somehow.

“You see, he’s quite…what’s the word? Hesitant.” Tyler waved the plied around for emphasis before locking the pliers onto the next nail. This time, Y/N tried to move her foot away, but the ropes held her in place.

“I don’t blame him, though.” A forceful pull followed, along with another scream.

A few deep breaths and more panting before Tyler continued.

“Getting over your first isn’t something someone does overnight.” The pliers again.

“P-please…” Y/N said quietly, her voice breaking. Tyler laughed and pulled another toenail out. Two more left. This time, her scream was weaker.

“Already? Oh, you poor thing, I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff.” He sighed before quickly pulling out the other two nails in her left foot.

“Please. He’s already over you, jackass.” Y/N finished, smirking and looking at Tyler.

He said nothing, simply moved over to her other foot.

“I think the best thing about him is his tongue.” She said, looking up and getting ready for the pull which didn’t come. She glanced down and saw Tyler glaring at her, which made her smile even more.

“The mere thought of what he can do with that thing gets me all kinds of hot.” She laughed, her laughter turning into a yell when Tyler finally pulled. Blood dripped onto the wooden floor.

“The only person still getting over it is you. Pathetic.” She gasped out, yelling again as another nail came out.

Nothing else was said as the rest of the nails were removed, and Tyler stood up silently, putting the pliers down and picking something else up.

“You think you’re funny, huh?” Tyler asked, putting his hands over hers and leaning towards her. Y/N said nothing, just looked at him with an amused grin. Tyler mirrored her smile and showed her what was in his hand.

She looked, and the smile fell. Shit.

“Nail guns have to be one of my favourite things.” Tyler sighed, looking at the machine and then back at Y/N with the same amused grin before putting the bad end against her shoulder. They looked at each other in a heavy silence, almost daring each other to do something.

He pulled the trigger. Y/N hissed loudly, flinching heavily, but keeping her eyes locked on Tyler’s. A challenging gaze. He moved the gun over an inch or so, tilting his head to the side. Another nail into her shoulder, grazing a bone, didn’t matter which one. Y/N grunted, shaking her hands in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

“I can’t decide between strong or stubborn.” Tyler said with a bored tone. The gun moves, the trigger gets pulled, a nail goes in. Repeat.

They stare.

The gun moves.

-

It felt like days had gone by until Tyler ran out of nails. They weren’t long enough to kill, but enough. He knew his torture. At this point, Y/N had her head down, her shoulders moving with each breath, nails covering her chest and shoulders, blood trickling out of each and every one.

Y/N felt a hand on her shoulder, making her look up. This time, he had a hammer.

“You can probably guess what’s going to happen.” Tyler smiled, and got to work. Removing the nails, one painful pull after another until all she had was holes and blood, bloody nails surrounding the floor around her.

“Well that was boring.” Tyler sighed, looking at his hammer and thinking.

Y/N looked at his shoes. Then she burst out laughing. Tyler frowned and watched as she kept on going.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, making her laugh even harder.

“You think you’re so fucking badass, yet your socks have teddy bears on them.” She giggled, flinching when she moved the wrong muscle. Tyler scowled and punched her in the face. Her head turned sharply, but Y/N kept on laughing. Another punch. More laughter.

Tyler kept on punching, over thirty times until Y/N finally got the message and stopped laughing, just huffing every now and then as he took in deep breaths and took of his jacket.

“I think you’re done for today.” He said, winded from all the exercise. He opened the trap door that Y/N hadn’t spotted and went down, closing the door.

Y/N kept her head down, the pain keeping her quiet and in place until the door opened again a while later. Some footsteps, not like Tyler’s. A young boy kneeled down next to her and in her sight, skinny and bruised, picking up the nails on the floor around her, some metal and some human. They said nothing, the boy put everything in a bucket and grabbed a cloth out of another bucket, hesitantly moving over to Y/N.

“I don’t bite, kid.” She said quietly, raising her head slightly to smile tiredly. The boy smiled shyly before wiping the blood off of her arms and legs.

“U-um, I’ve been told to take your shirt off.” He blurted out after a few minutes.

“Go ahead, it’s fine.” Y/N shrugged, hissing in pain. The boy, barely fifteen, grabbed a pair of scissors from the table and cut off her loose tank top and cleaned up the blood on her chest. He put the now dirty rag into the bucket and picked up a bowl.

He picked up the spoon, full of some weird sludge and held it up to Y/N’s mouth.

“It’s porridge, not too bad. I put some sugar in it.” He explained, and Y/N hesitantly opened her mouth to eat it.

“It tastes bland as fuck.” She croaked out after she swallowed, making the boy laugh quietly.

“I know, but it’s better than nothing.” He said and continued to feed her.

Once the bowl was empty, she was given a drink of water and that was it. The boy put the stuff  back into the corner and opened the door.

“Wait.” Y/N said, and the boy stopped.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“I don’t have a name, really. They just call me boy, or something.” He answered, blushing a bit.

“Then choose one and tell me next time.” She smiled and the boy nodded, climbing down and closing the door, leaving Y/N alone with her thoughts.

-

_Two (2) Days Before the Call…_

The loud bang of the trapdoor being slammed open snapped Y/N out of her restless sleep. Tyler climbed up and kicked the door closed.

“I have a good feeling about today.” He smiled, going to the table and looking at his little arsenal. After a few minutes of thinking, his hand dancing around the table, he chose a small rolled up thing then grabbed the chair that was in the corner of the room, sitting in front of Y/N.

Tyler unrolled the black material on his lap to show a collection of throwing knives.

“You motherfucker.” Y/N sighed. They were hers.

“Good, you recognize them.” Tyler smiled, picking one up and putting the rest back on the table.

He let the knife trail over her bare thighs, her shorts doing nothing to protect her. He pressed down slightly, enough to cut but not deep, just enough to sting and draw some blood.

“Thighs are complicated.” Tyler said, making more cuts. Y/N didn’t make a sound.

“If you want to kill, then it’s fine. Just cut around until you find one of the arteries.” Tyler explained, using the knife to point at a specific part of her thigh.

“But it’s tricky to stab someone in the thigh if you want them to live.” Tyler complained, making his new cuts overlap with the old ones. Soon enough he got bored, and looked at Y/N’s hands before grabbing another knife.

“Hold these for me?” Tyler asked, and the second Y/N’s hesitant hands relaxed and opened he put one knife through each one, making Y/N scream as loudly as she could.

“Thanks.” He said calmly, going back to the table and ignoring Y/N’s agony

The next few hours went by in a haze of agony and disassociation. Her mind went off and left her body to suffer, only coming back when the door opened. A horrified gasp and a hand on her cheek. Y/N frowned and weakly looked up.

“Hey, kid.” She said emptily.

“I-I can’t take the knives out, I’m sorry.” He apologised, tears in his eyes and wet cloth in hand.

“It’s fine. Hey, did you think of a name?” Y/N asked, almost begging for something to think about. Her mind wouldn’t stop screaming.

“Oh, um, Nick. Nickolas.” He said shyly, wiping the dried blood of the woman’s thighs, the cuts stinging.

“Nickolas. Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.” She smiled weakly, flinching when Nickolas accidentally nudged one of the knives.

“Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to-.”

“Dude, it’s okay.” Y/N said, trying not to let her fingers twitch. The boy finished up and came back with his bowl. She looked at the spoon he was holding up with a tired look to see a banana slice.

“I snuck a banana into the porridge.” Nick smiled, and Y/N ate the porridge.

“You’re too nice.” She said with her mouth full, Nick making a face and laughing with her.

“I don’t know where I get it from; I’ve been with these guys all my life.”  He said bitterly, scooping up some more food.

Y/N frowned but kept on eating without another comment until the bowl was empty.

“Look, don’t get your hopes up, but on the slim chance that a friend of mine comes for me, you can always catch a ride with us.” Y/N said quietly, not wanting to risk someone hearing. Nick’s eyes widened slightly and he nodded so fast he almost have himself whiplash.

“Please.” He whispered, holding up the bottle of water for her to drink, which she did.

Once everything was back in its place, Nick stood at the trapdoor.

“I hope your friend comes.” He says instead of a goodbye before climbing down and closing the door, leaving Y/N alone again.

She sighed and closed her eyes. Looking at her hands made her entire body feel off, and everything else just kept her on edge. It was better to see nothing.

“I hope he comes.” Y/N whispered, her voice breaking as tears fell down her cheeks. He was her only hope, as pathetic as that seemed.

-

_One (1) Day Before the Call…_

Y/N woke up halfway through a nightmare; her reflexes making her move her hands and then her conscious mind immediately regret everything. The pain kept her awake for a few hours until the sound of the door opening caught her attention, but she didn’t move.

She could hear some footsteps as usual, and the familiar shoes came into view. Tyler cleared his throat and Y/N looked up, her bitchface armed and ready. He was holding the knives.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay with you.” Tyler said, tapping on the handles. She could feel the contact in her hands and hated it.

“What colour is Josh’s hair now?” The question surprised Y/N, but she hid it.

“Yellow.” She answered after a few seconds of silence. Tyler smiled and nodded.

“Hm…and the lip ring, does he still have that?” This time Y/N frowned and that was the answer.

“Oh, I still remember when it healed and he finally let me kiss him. That was one hell of an afternoon.” Tyler laughed as if he was in a drug induced haze. Memories could do that to a person.

Y/N just stared at him as he smiled, wondering if he had snorted a line before coming up.

“Did he tell you about me?” Tyler asked with a faint smile on his lips still.

“Yeah.” She said, remembering that night like it had been a few hours ago. Her heart hurt just at the thought of him, his harsh words floated around in her mind.

Tyler watched Y/N’s face as sadness filled her eyes.

“Did Josh say some not nice things to you?” He asked. Y/N said nothing, just looked at his shoes. Normal white socks this time.

“I asked you a question.” Tyler said, nudging one of the knives forcefully.

“So what if he did, what’s it to you?” Y/N hissed. He laughed and sat on his chair, which was opposite hers.

“It’s everything to me, Y/N. He must’ve gotten my text.” He said, muttering the last part but Y/N still heard.

“What text?” She asked, making Tyler laugh again. He grabbed the phone out of his pocket, fiddled around and showed her the screen.

J - ‘heard that you’ve been having a wild time with this Y/N. why don’t you introduce her to me?’

Y/N read the text, looking at the timestamp. Minutes after she left. Wait…

“What are you saying?”

“He does this thing, it’s quite cute actually, but whenever someone he cares for could die he completely overreacts and thinks that pushing them away will save them. That’s how I got my hands on you.” Tyler explained, fiddling on his phone some more before putting it away.

Y/N frowned, her mind processing this new information. He was lying. She let out a sob of relief. He didn’t mean it.

“Aw, did he hurt you?” Tyler asked, his voice portraying sympathy but his smile ruined it. She just glared and sniffed, her hands throbbing.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He sighed and grabbed the handle of the knife in the right hand.

“You ready for some more fun?” Tyler smiled, and Y/N knew she didn’t have to answer for him to pull the knife out. White hot pain coursed through her and for a few seconds, she swore that she blacked out.

Tyler’s laughter was faint behind the ringing in her ears, and just as she was coming back, he tore the other knife out.

After that, her mind was gone. She didn’t even notice him leave or Nickolas coming in until she could smell the porridge underneath her nose. She opened her mouth slightly and ate a bit.

“You don’t have to eat the whole bowl today, but I’m not leaving until the bowl is half empty.” Nickolas told her in a soft voice. Y/N grunted as an answer and continued to eat, even though she wanted to throw it all back up. A hand tucked some of her hair behind her ear in a way that made Y/N feel safe for a moment.

Instead of Nickolas, it was Josh.

Echoes of whispered conversations flew around her mind, his soft touches, his smile, him.

The tears came seconds later.

Sometime after, Nick left but all Y/N was thinking about was all her memories with Josh Dun.

-

_The Call…_

Tyler walked in with a weird happiness in his step. He didn’t even stop at the table this time, he just sat on the chair with his phone in his hand.

“It’s Sunday.” Tyler said, as if it would explain everything. He hummed a small song as he dialled a number and held the phone to Y/N’s ear.

“Hello?” Josh’s voice came through the phone and her heart jumped into her throat.

“J-Josh.” She barely managed to say, and as Tyler went to move the phone away, she held it by pressing her head against her shoulder. Tyler frowned and pressed into the cut on her hand as hard as he could, making Y/N yelp.

“Hi, Joshie boy, didn’t think you’d pick up, to be honest.” Tyler said cheerfully, pressing deeper and making her sob. She could hear Josh’s voice faintly, but not enough to understand what he was saying.

“Oh, not much, just my usual. You remember what that is, don’t you?” Tyler asked, then moved to the other hand, digging his thumb into the cut. Sobs wracked Y/N’s body, she was breaking. She watched at Tyler went from cheerful to angry in a split second and stood up, grabbing something from behind her and by the time she realised it was a sledgehammer, he had already brought it down full force onto her right foot, breaking whatever was in there. Y/N’s scream was so loud that even her own ears were ringing, and this time she couldn’t do anything to try and quell the pain.

“You know how this works, Josh. I’m almost disappointed that you even tried!” Tyler said mockingly, putting the sledgehammer down and making a face at the state of her foot, and for once Y/N was glad she couldn’t see her feet. She couldn’t seem to stop crying now, everything hurt and all her defences were crashing down.

“Since you’ve apparently forgotten, let me remind you how we play.” He started, raising his foot over her broken one.

“No, please, stop, stop!” She cried, but he didn’t listen.

“If you can find her before next Sunday, she’s all yours.”

“If not…well, you know.” He smirked at the woman in the chair before stomping down hard. At this point Y/N didn’t even know what sound she made, all she knew was pain.

“Broken bones are the best way to make people cry, if you asked me.” Tyler sighed.

“You have a week, Joshua. I suggest you start looking.” Tyler said, hanging up and putting his phone back in his pocket.

-


	12. Raining at My Eyes, Crashing at my Knees.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have..no excuses. I'm a monster who doesn't upload shit for ages!!!! I hate myself!!!!!! But here it is, it's finished (or is it LMAO). Enjoy.

**-**

When the phone call cut out, Josh just stared at the phone, pulling over on to the sidewalk. Panic sat in his bones and in his lungs and all Josh could do was hear his breathing pick up. His thoughts raced through his mind faster than anything ever had before.

After a few minutes of driving, he shakily dialled another number on his phone.

“I need an airplane ticket to Columbus, Ohio.” Josh said the exact second the other end of the call picked up.

“Sure thing, man. There’s a flight going out of LAX in about an hour, can you make it?” It was one of Josh’s ‘contacts’, known as Ace and nothing else.

“Yeah, I’m only fifteen minutes away.” Josh answered, immediately accelerating back into the road and on the way to the airport.

“First Class or Economics?”

“I don’t give a shit, just get me on the flight.”

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry. First Class has a seat, just snagged it for you. I’ll have a friend hand you the ticket and the documents you’ll need. You do know that your face is all over the news, right?” Ace commented, the quiet noise of typing in the background.

“Yeah. Look, I’m gonna have to ask you for a favour.” Josh said, driving as fast as he could without getting pulled over.

“Dude, you owe me so much I can’t even believe-.”

“You can borrow my car for a while.”

“… _yes_! Totally forgiven, man! I’ll take great care of her.” Ace gushed. Josh would’ve laughed if he didn’t feel like he was going to throw up.

“It’ll be at the airport, get your guy to pick it up after he hands me the stuff.”

“Sure thing, I’ll see you round, Missile Kid.” Ace hung up and Josh let a small smile grow for a second, the old nickname took him back to simpler times. But now wasn’t the time to be nostalgic. The smile fell.

Y’N’s scream echoed in his ears and as he absentmindedly kept on driving. He had no idea what he had done to her, or how long he had had Y/N in his hands, but all he knew was that although Tyler was dramatic and, to be frank, an asshole, he was also very predictable. Josh knew exactly where Tyler and Y/N were, it was just the question of getting there in time.

The sign showed the exit for the airport, and Josh followed it without thinking.

-

Y/N hadn’t stopped shaking since Tyler had broken her foot. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt, and her mind wasn’t capable of processing what was going on. She thought that maybe Nick had come and gone, but she didn’t know if that was an hour ago or a day ago. Time didn’t exist where she was.

Wind slipped through the walls softly, not enough to make her cold, but enough to keep her cool. The blood on her skin dried and crumbled, tears marked her cheeks and dripped down onto her legs.

The trapdoor opened. Y/N didn’t move.

Hands were on her forearms, touching her as if she were fragile glass. At this point, she even felt like it.

A hand went to her sweat-covered cheek, stroking her cheekbone.

“J..Josh?” Y/N asked, her voice breaking from exhaustion but relief flooding through her like a waterfall. The hands moved away, a laugh filled the air.

“You’re far gone.” Tyler giggled, crouching down to catch a look at Y/N’s face.

“Look! You don’t even know if this is real! Classic.” Tyler laughed some more before standing up.

“I’ll leave you alone for now, you’ve earned it.” He said, sitting down on the chair next to his table. Y/N sobbed, more pain coming with every breath and motion.

Y/N doubted she’d last any longer.

-

Josh was driving in the middle of the night when he got another call. He answered the second he grabbed his phone.

“Tyler?”

“Aw, did you save my contact? How sweet.” Tyler gushed through the phone.

“Is she alive?” Josh asked, sick of Tyler’s bullshit.

“Barely. I think breaking her foot did it for her. Poor thing. I’m looking at her right now and I just want to put her out of her damn misery, it’s pathetic.”

“If you kill her I will make your life a living hell.” Josh spat, his heart crumbling just at the thought of his Y/N, broken and defeated.

“Please, you already do.” Tyler sighed. Josh could hear some movement and then nothing.

“Go on, prove to my little boy that you’re still kicking.” Tyler cooed, and Josh couldn’t even breathe as he waited for a noise.

“He’s…not…yours.” Y/N panted out, taking deep breaths in between her words.

“Y/N, I’m almost there, okay? I promise that I’m coming.” Josh said, trying to sound calm.

“Trapdoor.” Y/N whispered, and Tyler yanked the phone away as soon as he heard, but it was too late, Josh had heard her. The call cut off and Josh swore harshly, throwing his phone onto the passenger seat and speeding up considerably.

The tree-house. She was at the tree-house.

-

Tyler was throwing a little bitch fit, flipping the table over and kicking all his instruments all over the place. Y/N simply stayed put and smiled, the game was over. After a few more kicks, he span round and stormed over to Y/N.

“How dare you ruin this for me?” Tyler hissed, putting his hands on top of the woman’s wounded ones, digging in harshly and with no hesitation. Y/N barely registered the pain.

“I have spent years, _years_ , waiting for this opportunity! For someone to catch his eye, to make him hurt the way he hurt me, but no!” He yelled, letting go of her hands and pacing the small room.

“You had to ruin it all for me. He wouldn’t have found you, I’d kill you and then this whole fiasco would’ve stopped.” Tyler ranted, more to himself.

Y/N coughed and raised her head a bit.

“How have I ruined it, just by commenting on a trapdoor?” Y/N asked coyly. But she knew exactly where they were, it just took a while (And having a broken foot). Tyler’s shoulders were tense as he grabbed a knife off of the floor.

“You know. Exactly. How you ruined this.” Tyler said quietly, making his way back to her chair. He pulled up his chair from the ground and sat opposite Y/N.

“You’re going to regret ever meeting Josh Dun.”

“Psh.” Y/N laughed quietly, everything hurting just to do so, but she didn’t care anymore. Josh was coming for her.

“He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” She said to herself, seeing Tyler raise the knife in her peripheral vision.

It came down on her hand, a few inches away from the other cut.

More pain.

-

It took Josh a little over an hour, even though he was going almost twice the speed limit. He almost crashed a few times but only because he was too distracted forming a plan. A risk one at that, but at least it was a plan. The forest was easy enough to get to, and once he couldn’t drive anymore, he just jumped out and broke into a sprint.

The trees hadn’t changed at all, and Josh knew this place like the back of his hand. The tree where they buried Jefferson was a minute away, he ran past the cat’s grave a few moments later, and then he saw it:  the tree-house. There was a car parked right underneath it, but it was empty. Tyler probably had some people in the houses nearby.

Josh climbed up the rickety ladder, pushed the door open and got in.

There they were.

“Didn’t take you long, did it?” Tyler smiled as if Y/N wasn’t even there and he didn’t have a knife pressed against her throat. Josh’s heart lurched and he quickly started to try and find a way out of the situation.

“Put the knife down and let her go, Tyler.” Josh said with a calm voice, but panicking on the inside. Tyler sighed but didn’t move his hand, instead nudged the knife that was in Y/N’s right hand. She whimpered.

“Josh.” She whispered, looking at him with fear in her eyes.  He looked at her for a moment and quickly formed a plan in his head. It had to work, there was no other option.

“I truly expected you to not find her until Thursday at least. Not Tuesday.” Tyler continued, and Josh took a step forward.

“Well, I’m here now. You got me.” Josh said, watching as Tyler pressed the knife into Y/N’s throat, not enough to cut but enough to make swallowing difficult.

“Don’t you move, Joshie boy. Another step and I’ll kill your precious little girl.” Tyler threatened. Josh stopped and put his hand up. Y/N looked at Josh’s face and barely manages to see the slightest wink. Wait, what?

“I’m not here for her and you know it.” Josh said softly. Tyler froze for a few seconds.

“Do y-you think I’ll fall for that?” Tyler laughed shakily. Y/N’s pain riddled brain was trying and failing to realise what was going on.

“I knew your plan the second you sent that message, Ty.” Josh took a step forward, watching Tyler’s resolve crumble. Y/N could barely think, was he telling the truth? She could feel Tyler’s hand shaking.

“Shut up. You’re bluffing.” Tyler tried to laugh again, but it came out as a nervous jitter. Josh took another step and put his hand over Tyler’s.

“I’d never lie to you, baby.”  Josh reassured Tyler softly, and Tyler let go of the knife and letting it fall to the wooden floor with a loud thud, forgetting about Y/N completely.  He moved over to Josh, putting a hand on his cheek. Josh smiled and pulled Tyler in closer.

“I’ve-.” Tyler started to say, but Josh cut him off with a kiss. Tyler practically collapsed into the kiss, the last of his defences crumbling.

Then, out of nowhere, Josh grabbed the side of Tyler’s head (disguised as a caress) and slammed Tyler’s head onto the wall, making Y/N jump. Tyler gasped and stayed on the ground. Josh grabbed the hammer near his feet and made his way to Tyler.

“Wait, wait-.” Tyler started, but Josh brought the hammer down onto Tyler’s head again and again, until Tyler stopped moving and stayed still, blood all over him.

“Josh.” Y/N panted, bringing him back to reality. Josh blinked a few times, putting the hammer on the table next to him before turning to the woman in the chair to analyse the situation but when he did, worry and anxiety grew in his chest.

She looked like she had been through hell and back with bruises on her face, cuts on her legs, dozens of holes in her chest. Actual small circles that went surprisingly deep into her skin, the nails scattered around the chair gave him the answers he needed for the questions brewing in his mind at a ridiculous speed.

“Hey, you.” She smiles weakly, delirious on pain and weakness. Josh quickly went over to her and cupped her face with his hands as lightly as he could, trying to avoid the bruises (which was almost impossible).

“I’m-“

“Shut it, you’re forgiven.” Y/N sniffs, tears coming back to her eyes.

“Josh, you need to get the knife out.” Josh gulped, looking at her hand. The knife looked wrong just being there, it was like life was a videogame and there had been a glitch, a really bad glitch. Hesitantly Josh placed his hand around the knife’s handle.

“Hey, look at me?” Y/N asked softly and Josh looked. She smiled at him but her smile was barely there.

“Just…pull it out. Then we can get out of this shithole.” She says with a weak grin and Josh nods, getting ready.

One.

Two.

Three.

Josh yanks the knife out as hard and fast as he can, trying his best to not pull it out at a wrong angle. Y/N tries to screech but her throat is raw and sore from the past days of pain. Instead she resorts to silent sobs, trembling as the pain courses through her body. She barely hears Josh apologising and doesn’t remember him cutting the ropes holding her to the chair, all she does remember is slouching slightly after being forced to sit upright for so long.

Y/N groans as some muscles protest her movement but she persists, letting Josh put his arms around her.

“You need to put your arms around my shoulders and hold on, just until we get down to the floor.” Josh explains quickly and Y/N nods, doing as she’s told. Before Josh can hesitantly explain the next step she slowly wraps her legs around his torso, trying to avoid moving her broken foot. Josh pushes her up slightly to help her keep her grip on him and Y/N whimpers when her foot jolts slightly.

“Sh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.”

“I’m gonna need to go to the hospital.” Y/N pants, holding onto Josh with what was left of movement in her hands.

“I know, baby, that’s the plan.” Josh says soothingly, kissing Y/N lightly on the top of her head before slowly making his way down the ladder, making sure she was secure until they got to the floor.

“Hey!” A voice shouts and Josh stills, making Y/N peek over his shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s Nick. He helped me and I promised him a ride.” She explained and Josh nodded, turning around. Nick was…small, barely even a teenager, Josh could understand why Y/N made her promise.

“You’re the friend?” The boy asked shakily and Josh turned around. He nodded and pointed to his car.

“Ready for your ride?” Josh asked with a small smile and Nick nodded enthusiastically, practically running to the car. Josh followed suite and put Y/N in the passenger seat as delicately as he could. Josh ran to the driver’s seat, pulling out of the forest and making his way to the nearest hospital.

Nick sat in the backseat, watching the scenery go by and trying not to think about the woman in front of him. She was badly hurt, he knew that much. After a quiet conversation about sleep, she passed out and Josh sped up a bit more.

“Is she going to be okay?” Nick asked quietly, making Josh glance at the rear-view mirror.

“Yeah, she will be.” Josh answers and sighs, looking at her for a moment.

“Look, kid, I have a plan and you need to help me with it, okay?” Josh started, smiling without emotion when Nick agreed immediately. It would work now, especially with him.

-

“Are you sure about this?”

“It’s the only way she- she’ll die if we don’t do this.”

“…Okay.”

-

Y/N doesn’t remember falling asleep but she can feel herself waking up. Something was different, her body felt weird and slightly stiff. Something was different. She tried to open her eyes but the bright lights hurt too much to even get a glimpse.

“What the fuck?” Y/N barely manages to make the words heard, her throat dry and sore. Suddenly she hears a door open and close, making her freeze up. A hand goes on her arm and she flinches heavily without knowing exactly why. She hears a gasp.

“Miss L/N, can you hear me?” A smooth voice asks and Y/N tries to open her eyes again, succeeding this time.

“Loud and clear, bud.” She says dryly, slowly opening her eyes completely to see an unfamiliar face in a doctor’s uniform.

Wait.

Her memories come rushing back. Pain, blood, more pain, suffering, Tyler, Nick-.

“Josh.” She gasps and the doctor casts a sympathetic look.

“It’s okay, Miss L/N, he’s far away from here. You’re safe now.”  The doctor smiles in an attempt to be soothing and failing miserably. Y/N blinks a few times to register what the woman said.

“N-no, you don’t understand. I need to-.” Y/N starts but then more people come in the room and the doctor puts her hand over yours.

“We know what that awful man did to you and your friend, Nick. He dropped the two of you off here before handing himself in to the police.” The doctor explained. A second passed, and then two before you burst out laughing. The other doctors and nurses in the room looked at each other nervously.

“What? Have you lost your mind? Josh never did anything, what the hell are you talking about?” Y/N barely managed to say through her laughter. What kind of bullshit is this? The doctor sighed and called a nurse over.

“You were admitted into the hospital with signs of extreme torture and trauma all over. The boy wasn’t hurt but he was in tears explaining how a man named Josh Dun had held the two of you captive for months before taking you to the hospital. A few hours later it was on the news that he had confessed to the police and after a few weeks he was proven guilty and taken to jail.” The doctor told her slowly, making sure Y/N could understand each word she was saying until the woman on the bed was close to tears.

“I-I don’t- I can’t-What?” Y/N whispered and looked around. No one was smiling or holding back laughter. There was a knock at the door and a familiar face came in. Nick.

“Oh my god, Y/N!” He exclaimed, running over to the side of her bed and hugging her. Y/N numbly put an arm around him, looking at him confusedly.

“Nick, what-.”

“I’ll explain later, I swear. Just go along with it.” Nick whispered quietly, so quietly even Y/N had trouble hearing him. She nodded and managed to spin a convincing story of what had happened which was enough to let the doctors continue with their work and eventually leave the two alone.

Y/N waited for the last nurse to leave before glaring at Nick and pointing at him.

“Now you better have a good fucking explanation for this bullshit, Nick.” She hissed and Nick sighed.

“He said it was the only way they’d help you. We came up with a believable story and went with it.” Nick said simply as if it was nothing and Y/N just stared at him.

“So Josh is in prison?” She whispered, barely managing to wrap her head around the fact and when Nick nodded hesitantly she finally broke down.

Things were different now.

 


	13. .-- .... .- - .----. ... / -. . -..- - ..--..

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. He had a scruffy beard and she had new scars, both visible and hidden.

"You had no fucking right to do what you did, Joshua." 

"It's nice to see you too, sweetheart."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y E E T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sub to the series to know when part 2 comes out! or not idk)


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